Latest – Page 476

  • News

    Fortissimo picks up worldwide rights to Pleasure Factory

    2007-04-23T05:25:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has taken on worldwide sales rights to Thai writer-director Ekachai Uekrongtham's Singapore-set drama Pleasure Factory, which has been selected for Un Certain Regard as the only South-East Asian feature in Cannes ' official selection this year. Ekachai, whose directorial debut was the critically-acclaimed Beautiful Boxer, is a Singapore ...

  • News

    Pirates 3 gets greenlight for Chinese release

    2007-04-20T08:55:00Z

    Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End has been approved by Chinese censors and can be released mid-June at the earliest, according to state-owned distributor Huaxia Film Distribution and cinema owners from Beijing and Shanghai. The exact release date of the third film in the Pirates franchise is yet to ...

  • News

    Singapore censors allow jury-only screening of Solos

    2007-04-20T08:49:00Z

    In an unexpected gesture of goodwill, Singapore 's Board of Film Censors has allowed an uncut, jury-only screening of Solos at the 20th Singapore International Film Festival. Festival organisers had pulled the film from the line-up after the censors demanded three cuts of 'explicit sexual acts', in line with the ...

  • News

    Gold in the vaults

    2007-04-20T00:00:00Z

    With the growth of digital delivery, film archives are a potential goldmine for US studios and other rights-holders. Denis Seguin looks at the promise of digital, while Screen correspondents (see links, right) explore the distribution opportunities for major public rights-holders...In 1955, RKO Pictures licensed the television rights to its 740-film ...

  • News

    New Summit studio launches with over $1bn in funding

    2007-04-19T21:54:00Z

    Rob Friedman, the former vice chairman and COO of Paramount Pictures, and Patrick Wachsberger, the head of Summit Entertainment LP, have unveiled their long-in-the-works production and distribution company which has immediate access to $1bn in funds from a financing deal led by Merrill Lynch and a consortium of investors.The company, ...

  • News

    'A rich year' for Cannes 60th anniversary. promise organisers

    2007-04-19T12:52:00Z

    The Cannes Film Festival announced this year's line-up at a press conference in Par with, as expected, Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights set to open the 60th edition. The film will screen in competition alongside 21 other films from confirmed talents, as well as some new faces and one debut ...

  • News

    Cannes: Un Certain Regard programme

    2007-04-19T11:31:00Z

    Films selected for Un Certain Regard:Calle Santa Fe by Carmen CastilloMunyurangabo by Lee Isaac Chung Night Train by Diao Yinan El Bano Del Papa by Enrique Fernandez and Cesar CharloneBikur Hatizmoret by Eran KolirinMister Lonely by Harmony Korine Magnus by Kadri Kousaar Mang Shan by Li YangMio Fratello E Figlio ...

  • News

    Bangkok film fest outlines new Asia-centric strategy

    2007-04-19T10:49:00Z

    The Bangkok International Film Festival has revealed further details of its upcoming fifth edition which will be held July 19-29 following a postponement from January. According to a statement issued today, Asian cinema will take centre stage at the festival this year. More than 100 films from about 30 countries ...

  • News

    Applause Taiwan changes name, unveils release slate

    2007-04-19T10:46:00Z

    Following the launch of Hong Kong-based Arm Distribution by producer-director Peter Chan and Andre Morgan of Ruddy Morgan Organization, Applause Entertainment, the Taiwan subsidiary of Chan's Hong Kong-based Applause Pictures, will be renamed Arm Distribution Taiwan. Applause Entertainment was launched in 2004 to handle distribution of Chinese-language films with the ...

  • News

    Cannes to open with Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights

    2007-04-19T09:26:00Z

    The 60th Cannes Film Festival will open May 16 with Wong Kar-wai's first English-language project, My Blueberry Nights, which will play in competition. Singer Norah Jones makes her big-screen debut as a lovelorn woman on a soul-searching journey across America.The other films selected for competition areCatherine Breillat's An Old Mistress ...

  • News

    Lee Byung-hun joins cast of Fuji TV's Hero

    2007-04-19T05:52:00Z

    Korean star Lee Byung Hun (A Bittersweet Life) will make his Japanese film debut in a feature adaptation of hit Fuji TV drama Hero, co-starring Takuya Kimura (Love And Honour). Hero follows an unconventional public prosecutor (Kimura) as he works to uncover the sinister conspiracy behind what starts as a ...

  • News

    Tony Leung Chiu-wai to replace Chow in Red Cliff

    2007-04-18T16:04:00Z

    Tony Leung Chiu-wai will replace Chow Yun-fat in the role of Zhou Yu in John Woo's Red Cliff, producer Terence Chang and the film's investor Chengtian Entertainment confirmed this evening. Leung was previously attached to the project in the role of Zhuge Liang, but quit in March due to scheduling ...

  • News

    Shanghai film festival unveils anti-piracy project

    2007-04-18T14:40:00Z

    The Shanghai International Film Festival has launched an anti-piracy short film project for its upcoming tenth edition (June 16-24). The first in a series of ten anti-piracy-themed short films will be directed by Feng Xiaogang and will premiere at SIFF's opening ceremony on June 16. At a press conference held ...

  • News

    Chinese officials deny that quotas encourage piracy

    2007-04-18T14:31:00Z

    Chinese trade officials have rejected a complaint by the US to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that import restrictions on foreign movies, music and books are an obstacle to the country's crackdown on rampant piracy. Wang Ziqiang, spokesperson for National Copyright Administration, said yesterday that the accusation that market access ...

  • News

    AFCNet takes on Bowling, Lake as advisors

    2007-04-18T07:37:00Z

    Warner Brothers' Bill Bowling and Warner Roadshow Studios' Michael Lake have joined the Asian Film Commissions Network (AFCNet) as advisors. Worldwide Location Executive at Warner Bros Pictures, Bowling has been locations manager for 50 Hollywood films, including Independence Day, Saving Private Ryan and Enemy Of The State. President of Warner ...

  • News

    New Asia Pacific Screen Awards land backing from CNN, UNESCO

    2007-04-17T12:32:00Z

    The Queensland Government today launched the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, which will get global coverage from CNN, giving filmmakers from 70 countries an opportunity to showcase their work. The first awards presentation ceremony will be held Nov 13, the first night of the annual conference of Screen Producers Association of ...

  • News

    Koreasigns first film industry labour agreement

    2007-04-17T12:13:00Z

    The Korean Motion Picture Producers' Association and the Federation of Korean Movie Workers' Union have announced they will sign Korea's first film industry labour agreement tomorrow (April 18) in a ceremony at the Korean Film Council's headquarters. According to the deal, workers will be paid on a bi-weekly basis instead ...

  • News

    Optimum strikes UK deal for Waititi's Eagle Vs Shark

    2007-04-17T10:39:00Z

    Distributor Optimum Releasing has acquired the UK rights to Taika Waititi's debut feature Eagle Vs Shark. Separately, Capelight Films has taken the German rights. The New Zealand feature, a comedy about two misfits starring Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clement, premiered at Sundance before playing in Rotterdam and Berlin. Ainsley Gardiner ...

  • News

    Fox signs letter of intent to invest in Showbox films

    2007-04-17T09:44:00Z

    Leading Korean investor and distributor Showbox Mediaplex announced on the KOSDAQ today (April 17) that major US studio 20th Century Fox has signed a letter of intent (LOI) regarding co-financing and international distribution of Korean films. According to the LOI, Fox would invest in Showbox films, which would then be ...

  • News

    Chow Yun-fat climbs down from Woo's Red Cliff

    2007-04-17T08:08:00Z

    Three days after shooting started, Chinese star Chow Yun-fat has dropped out of John Woo's $70m epic drama Red Cliff. According to producer Terence Chang, the reason for the sudden withdrawal was that completion bond company CineFinance would not approve the terms raised by Chow. It is the second time ...